


To Kill a Hawkins

by StarSpinner678



Category: Treasure Planet (2002)
Genre: Gen, Space Pirates, Unofficial Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-20 18:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6020230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSpinner678/pseuds/StarSpinner678
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two years into his academy training, he's taking his last mission before getting his rank as Lieutenant. Unfortunately, someone doesn't want him getting it. Some doesn't want him alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet Myst

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pulling this from the grave and rewriting it entirely. Trust me, you don't want to touch the original version, or even the second version. This is much nicer to read.

Part I

Chapter 1

"Mister Hawkins."

"Yes, Captain?" James replied, stepping off the ramp onto the deck of the Turquoise Ark, a member of the Royal Family's Jewel Navy fleet. Jim had been assigned to the delivery of Arcturian solar crystals by the Academy as his final assignment. After this, the step to first lieutenant was simply handing in his log books of the past two years.

"You remember Marty? First year, demoted to cabin-mate last month?" The spider-like woman, barely five foot high, didn't look up from her notepad. "His mother came down with something nasty and he's opted to stay with her instead of earning extra credits." She scribbled something down quickly. "Of course I had to replace him, and she comes with very high recommendations, and she's an experienced sailor. It shouldn't be too difficult to keep her busy, you don't think?" Again, she didn't wait for Jim to reply before disappearing into the crowd on the deck.

"Yes, ma'am," Jim replied to her retreating figure. Cabin mates weren't really assigned to anyone, but responsibility would fall to him if she messed up too badly. He adjusted his bag over his right shoulder, packed tight with clothes, a book, and his journal. The corner of one of the books had been jabbing into his side since he left. Once the corner wasn't digging into his side as much, he started for the stairs heading down to the sleeping area. There was a piece of paper nailed to the doorway at the top of the stairs. Further inspection showed that it was a sleeping arrangement chart. Perfect.

Jim found his name easily enough, on the first level. A footnote mentioned that each room had the names of the occupants on the door. Jim shrugged. Made it easier for him, however, a small, nagging voice told him to be careful of the control Captain Alcor seemed to want.

His loyal companion for the last two and a half years wondered out of his pocket while Jim descended the stairs, yawning sleepily.

"Good morning, you little squid." Morph nudged itself against Jim's cheek, babbling happily. Jim reached up and petted it gently on the head. "Ready for another adventure?" So far, the little shape-shifter had gone with Jim on every journey, even if it had to be smuggled aboard.

His attention on Morph, he walked into an unsuspecting figure coming around the corner. The head of the other person implanted itself into his chin and neck, tripping Jim up. Next thing he knew, he was on the floor.

"Ow, owowowowow," They muttered, clutching their head.

Jim sat up and rubbed his chin where their skull must have collided with him. He let a groan escape while he did a check for bruising. The bone was tender, both his jaw and his collarbone, but he doubted there would be a mark. "You okay?" he asked the hunched figure as Morph babbled around his hand, looking for injuries.

They swore before replying. "Yeah, just didn't see you coming down the stairs." Finally, they looked up, and he met a set of blue and purple swirled eyes. Dark skin and almost opalised short dark hair made their pastel eyes stand out even more. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm alright." Jim looked her over. She was humanoid in structure, wearing a light-tan leather jacket and a pair of dirty grey-brown pants over a pair of black boots. "I should have been watching." He smirked at her, hoping to make it a laughable moment.

She smiled back, standing up. "I'm Myst Kone'on." She said, offering her hand.

Jim took it and she helped him up. "Jim. Jim Hawkins." He replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Myst combed her hair with her hand, setting it back in place: Spiked and messy. "You're the first mate, huh?" When Jim nodded, she continued. "Well then. Consider me reporting for duty, Sir." She mock saluted.

"You're the new cabin mate," he realize out loud. "Well, let me get settled in, and we can see what there is left to do. Maybe head to the galley? See if the cook needs any help before we head off." He suggested.

Myst nodded enthusiastically, bounding up the stairs.

Her eagerness left him feeling exhausted already, though he had just spend the last couple of hours on a loud and over-crowded shuttle up to the moon base.

His room was first to the left. There was another piece of paper nailed to the door, but unlike all the other rooms, he had the smallest and shared it with no one. He did, however, get a desk to work on. Which, if he remembered the plans of the ship correctly, none of the other rooms had.

Jim dumped his pack on the hammock, and started pulling out his things. He was wearing his formal uniform for the take off, so everyone would get to know his face. His casual uniform, for docking and meeting with lesser officials got hung up in the tiny closet next to the desk, as did his six sets of casual wear. 8 outfits in total should get him through if he mixed and matched shirts and pants between wash days. He hung his causal jacket, however, on the back of the door. The dark army-green cargo jacket had been with him all though his academy years, since he left his 'bad-boy' days, and his black jacket, behind him. He fished out his journal and pencil case from the bottom of the bag and placed them squarely on the desk, and the two books he brought he leant against the wall of the closet. Just small, homey touches made all the difference.

He knew, once they took off and artificial gravity was turned on, he'd have to come back in here and tidy everything up again, but it was nice making everything neat the first time. Who really cared about a second time?

Satisfied with his work, Jim left the room and started back up the stairs.


	2. She's a

First thing that a first mate had to do was let the captain know you're there. Since the captain had greeted him upon his arrival, he felt comfortable to set his things down. Now that he had, the next step was to ask for the first duty. Normally, the second in charge would be there much earlier, and would already know what was going on at this point, but because his mother was opening an extension to the Inn, he had wanted to be there. Business had been blooming over the last two years. Jim was practically a celebrity on Montressor, everyone stayed there for the chance to meet him and hear, first hand, the exciting adventure of James Hawkins: The Boy who Found a Legend. Also, there was only one shuttle ship up to the station that day.

"Captain," Jim called out, taking the stairs two at a time to the quarter deck. "What's left to do before take off?"

She turned to him, her six eyes, stretching from the front to the back of her head evenly, focused on him for a moment. "Jim," She addressed. "You're later than I expected," she clicked. Jim shrugged apologetically. "Make sure everything's been stacked below deck properly, and we're scheduled for departure in an hour. Make sure every spare set of hands is on deck." She turned her eyes away and continued with her checklist. "Moriarty," she spoke to someone else while Jim started away. "I can see everything, you know."

One of the deck hands looked up, eyes wide and teeth digging into a purp. Quickly, he trotted off to do whatever he was meant to do.

Jim smirked, and headed for the other end of the ship.

There were three levels to this ship, not including the state room under the quarter deck. The front half of the second level and the bottom level were dedicated to storage, food and fresh water.

The first level was the galley, and Jim saw Myst moving crates of food into the refrigerator under the instruction of the cook, a plump humanoid with a tentacle-like tail and a soft trunk-like nose. He took the stairs down again. The next room was storage, though not as neatly packed as he would have hoped for. It was already roped down though, so it would have to be adjusted once they'd turned the artificial gravity on.

The third level was still being sorted, and there was a good handful of crew members still organizing crates and barrels so that everything fit.

"Heya," Jim's academy friend, Shanti appeared next to him. Her hair waved above her head like snakes and her blue-grey skin was already streaked with dirt. "Long time since we met," she grinned. Her Common was rough, but she got her point across.

Jim grinned. "It's good to see a friendly face," he said in perfect Ovii. She battered him playfully, rolling her eyes. Shanti was small, even for her race. She stood, not including her hair, at his hip but she was faster than anyone he knew. She also had the logistical smarts behind her to get admiral, or higher, in the future, if only people would take her seriously. She was as tough as she was smart, but she had what she called the 'cute factor', no matter how much eye-liner and dark clothing she wore.

He turned his attention to the rest of the crew. "Hey everyone," He figured it was a safe why to start. "My name is Jim Hawkins, and I'm going to be your first mate for this trip." Somebody up the back cheered. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together over the next six months, so we'll have time to get to know each other later. First thing's first, Captain wants us launched within the hour. So, let's not be slow about it."

With moral a little higher, Jim took a stroll around the bottom deck. He pushed corners back into place, helped align crates and moved barrels with the rest of the crew. In forty-five minutes, everything was tied down and they were ready. Jim double checked everything on each floor and finally dismissed every one with five minutes to spare. The crew made for the galley for a drink and anything quick to eat, and Jim followed them. Myst was taking a breather sitting on and upturned crate, sipping water and watching the activity.

"Hey," Jim stepped up next to her, a metal mug in his hand. "Been working hard?" He took a mouthful and watched the crew getting along already. Most of them had been on ships together before, and Jim could almost guarantee everyone knew at least someone on the ship.

"You know it," Myst replied, smirking a little.

Jim was about to ask what was so funny when Shanti stepped up to him. "You know, the last time I saw you, you were still supporting that silly little half-shaved look." She said in Ovii.

Jim laughed, thinking back. "That had to be at least.. a year ago then. I shaved it all off at the start of my second year and let it grow back naturally." he replied.

"Pity," Shanti giggled, her hair floating around her face. "I liked it like that." She walked off then, to talk to someone else.

"Old friend?" Myst looked up at him, initiating a conversation.

"Yeah. Shanti was on my first voyage with the academy. She wants to study, but she can't afford it right now."

Myst nodded. "I want to study someday too."

"Oh yeah?" Jim's interest was spiked. "What do you want to study?"

Just then the bell rang out, calling all the crew to the deck for launch. The crew started up the stairs excitedly, Jim and Myst hanging back so as to not be in the throng of it all.

"I want to be a doctor one day." Myst said leaning in so he could hear her. "Either that or a writer."

"That's really cool," Jim said as they stepped onto the main deck.


	3. Nice kid

Jim didn't see much of Myst for the rest of his shift. His duties called him to barking out orders, and once the ship set off, she left for the galley to help with the meals. Since time was skew whiff in space, and there were no 'days' and 'nights', the bell would ring every eight hours. It was standard academy training: eight hours work, eight hours sleep and eight hours free time. Jim was glad to find this ship was no different. He was relived within five minutes, and he headed down to the galley to find something to eat.

Myst must have been working the same shift, which worked for him because Shanti came past and told him she was heading off to bed, being given the second round, and she was the only other person he knew.

"Hey," Jim slipped into the seat next to her.

"Hey back at you," She leant towards him, lowering her voice. "You have a shape-shifter, don't you?"

Jim nodded, feeling smug. They were a rare pet to have since they're so hard to catch and train. "It's called Morph." At the sound of it's name, the little pink blob whizzed out from Jim's top pocket and hovered by his shoulder. Myst leant back to study it.

"Cute, but they're cuter in blue." A pale blue shape shifter flew over to her then from the direction of the kitchen. It babbled around her head before seeing Morph, and stopping in it's tracks.

"Meet Changer, or Char, for short." Changer did a backflip in the air, and Myst clapped for it.

Jim turned his attention to Morph, who was staring at Char wide-eyed. "Morph, say hi to Char," Jim suggested.

Slowly, to two creatures circled each other, before deciding they had to be best of friends, and whizzing around the galley, babbling to the other.

Happy that they were getting along, Myst turned to Jim. "Been busy up there?"

"Not really," Jim said as he started eating. "I'm sure tomorrow will be more interesting, though, and once we get out of this system, we'll hopefully get to see the space whales on their migration to the Altron system."

"You like the space whales?" Myst asked, picking up a piece of Kartoffel with her fork and eating it.

"Nah, but they remind me of my first voyage." He smiled to himself. "I was with an old family friend, a total book nerd with not a lot of life experience. He tried to take a photo of one of them, but it blew some kind of yick from it's blowhole, and got him in the face. He was washing it out for almost the entire trip."

"That was the one to Treasure Planet, huh?" Myst turned to him, her meal forgotten. "You've probably told it a hundred times before, but I was wondering how you got the map in the first place."

Jim grinned. Most people didn't want to know that, it was nice to tell a different part of the story. "It was late in the evening, and a storm was rolling around after a hot day, and this ship crashed on the edge of our pier. It was old and damaged, I don't even know how it flew there, to be honest. Anyway, this old salamander was inside. I was sitting on the roof at the time, so I jumped down and rushed to the ship to open it up and get whoever was inside out. He's carrying this old box like it's his last will, which makes helping inside the Inn really difficult, but I manage it as it starts to rain. So I drag him inside, and let me tell you, my mother _freaked_. She saw him, injured, wet and dying draped over my shoulders and she doesn't know what to do. He collapses on the floor and opens the chest. He pulls out this little round thing wrapped in fabric and rope and hands it to me, telling me to 'beware the cyborg,' then he just.. dies." Jim remembered the moment clearly, and he wasn't smiling now. Silver must have been on his tail, trying to shoot him down. "That's how it all started." Jim looked around. He had created a crowd again, they were hanging off every word. No doubt they had all grown up with the story of Flint's Trove. It was an intersystem legend.

"That's kind of cool," Myst nodded to herself.

"Tell the rest of the story," Someone called out from the back.

"Another night, love!" Jim replied, relaxed despite the attention. "Anyway, I'm tired, so I'm going to get some sleep." He nodded to the crowed, and he and Myst rose from their seats.

"Here, pass that to me," Myst took the empty plate from Jim and took it to the sink. He didn't even remember eating it all, but there were two shape shifter's around that could be to blame. He wasn't all that hungry, so he let it be.

He was descending the stairs when Myst caught up to him. Once they were on the bottom, Jim turned to Myst. "I forgot to ask, how was your day?"

Myst shrugged. "Cook's got me working hard, but I knew I would be."

Jim leant against the wall, hoping his stance wouldn't seem too flirty. He was going for subtle, after all. "You flown before?"

Myst nodded. "I love sailing through the skies. It puts your whole life in perspective. Like, how can a fight between me and my best friend matter to the epic expanse of the galaxy? It doesn't. It's nice to be reminded that we are inferior to the universe."

Jim paused his thoughts for a moment. "That's an upsetting way to think," He said finally, once her words had sunk in.

She shook her head. "You should try it some time. It's like.. Having a weight lifted off your shoulders. You know there are millions of people out there like you, and to know that nothing small and petty you do will count in the great cosmos, it's settling. It's nice."

Jim exhaled, amused. "I'll give it a go, then. Tomorrow, though. I really have to catch up on some sleep."

Myst bid him goodnight, and Jim stepped into his room while she continued down the stairs to the second level. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll get a laugh if you look up what Kartoffel means.


	4. I'm sure

Myst and Jim got along famously. Their schedules were identical, though that was probably so Jim could keep an eye on the newest member of the crew. Jim learnt that Myst didn't actually know anyone on the ship, and Jim tried to introduce her to everyone he met. Soon, meals around the table were loud and excited, and Jim loved how Myst loved it.

He also learnt how much she loved sailing, and that she'd been doing it for several years now. He remembered watching her tell the story of the first time she flew, and she described everything that was now normal to the crew with such fascination. She had their new friends hanging on every word, and after that, her popularity only grew.

It had been three days since the launch, and Jim was sitting up in the shrouds, pencil in hand and his journal on his lap. He was suppose to record everything technical that happened on the ship, like how the captain made them adjust their direction to avoid a meteor belt, and how one of the sail-masters discovered a small tear in the missen sail which had to be repaired. He also had to record how he felt about it. Unfortunately, that made the journal feel rather personal, and he clutched it with one hand as he wrote. It was nearly the end of his free-time, and he wanted to finish the entry before he started his shift.

Because the universe was hardly ever with him, Shanti sat herself next to him, getting comfortable in the ropes. Jim resisted the urge to sigh at the distraction.

"Heya Jim." She said, looking out and the sky. "Maetro told me I's must speak more Common. He does not like it when he can not understand."

Jim finished his sentence and closed the book. He'd have time to finish it after work. "Well, that's good, isn't it? Then you'll learn faster." Maetro was a monkey-like character with a low tolerance for things he didn't understand. He was smart, but it was mostly street-smarts. He had been dismissed from the academy the year before Jim started, and Maetro had told him it was a great decision for himself. Jim loved the academy, but could understand how it wasn't everyone's cup of tea.

"Yas, but I can not ask important questions without everyone hearing them," She sighed dramatically, before switching to Ovii. "So, have you slept with her yet?"

If Jim hadn't made himself so secure in the ropes, he probably would have fallen out. He replied quickly back in Ovii. "No I have not, and as first mate it would be irresponsible of me, so I will not." He felt uncomfortable and hoped no one else on the ship could speak Ovii, at least not anyone within earshot.

Shanti threw herself back onto the ropes, laughing loudly, and Jim knew his beige skin had given him away with a blush. "Oh you should have seen your face, Jimmy, you know how to make a Shii laugh," She must have been satisfied with her effect, so she started down the ropes and disappeared.

Jim picked up his journal and started where he left off, writing furiously, trying to get the image out of his head. It was difficult, though, her dark skin was the same colour as the leather covering his book. He finished just as the short five-minute warning bell rang and he raced to his room to drop off the book before he started.

Myst met him at the top of the stairs, and either must have seen his flustered face or had heard it from Shanti, because she was attempting to hide a smug smile as they passed.

Jim wanted to shout back at her, tell her it wasn't that funny, but if she didn't know she would demand that he tell her, and that wasn't a chance he was willing to take.

He got to the state room with a minute to spare and checked the job list. Today, now that they were about to enter unprotected space, would be to check all the long boats. They would have been checked just before docking last time, but it gave him something to do so he didn't relax right before leaving the safety of the system. It was mentioned that he should have someone with him, specifically someone who didn't know how to fly a longboat so he could teach them. One more pilot never hurt a crew. He was starting to get concerned with the possible control-freak of a captain.

Either way, he knew who he wanted to take with him. The he realize why he couldn't take her. He stood looking at the list, torn. He didn't want to sleep with her, anyway, so he shouldn't be ashamed to spend time with her. However, if she knew, spending the day with her might confirm her suspicions and she might think that he did. Avoiding her, though, could do the same.

"Having trouble reading, Hawkins?" Alcor asked from behind her desk. One arm was writing quickly in what appeared to be a log book, another was browsing the bookshelf next to her, pulling out a book or putting one back, and another was making a mark on the book she was reading from. Her eyes were focused on each task, but one swung around to look at him.

"No, Ma'am, just thinking about who I should take with me." He replied. He never got board watching multi-armed people doing totally average things.

The eye turned back to the desk and a fourth hand pulled out a list filled with names of the crew members. She scanned it for a moment. "Take that cabin mate. I don't believe she knows how to fly a longboat. Then get her to scrub the quarter deck. Someone spilled something sticky there and I keep standing in it."

The decision made for him, Jim settled. "As you wish," He saluted and she dismissed him just as the bell rang.

Myst was talking animatedly to Shanti at the top of the stairs. Really, her enthusiasm at a distance could exhaust him. Jim figured if she didn't know then, she would probably know now. The captain had suggested it, however, and that was excuse enough for him to interrupt.

"Myst, Captain would like me to teach you to pilot a longboat today."

The girl turned to him and smiled. "I'd love to learn," They said goodbye to Shanti, who whispered something in her ear before leaving.

Jim tried to think of anything other than what they were sharing.

"First thing's first," He started once the lights in the hold turned on. The walls were lined with the tied down crates and barrels, but the roof of the third level was filled with the long boats. He pressed a couple of buttons and the first boat was set down onto the miniature dock.

"You say that a lot, you know?" Myst said, stepping up to the port side of the boat.

She had already lost him. "What do I say?"

"You're always saying 'First thing's first,'" she imitated his voice badly, "Whenever there's a lot to do. It's like a bad omen at this point."

"It is not!" Jim grinned as he followed her. "But we do have a lot to do."

Jim grabbed the edge of the boat and held it steady, because it didn't want to stay centre. "Myst, grab that rope, and tie it to the wall, then untie the dock rope and toss it into the boat."

"Aye aye, first mate!" Myst said, bounding to do what she was asked. Once the boat was ready to be lowered into the sky, Jim climbed in. When Myst didn't follow, Jim motioned for her to jump in with him. "Aren't you coming?"

Myst dropped into the boat in front of him and sat herself securely down.

"Alright, for the first boat, I'm going to drive it and you're going to sit there and be quiet. The controls are different than the ones I normally work with, so I don't want to mess this up."

Myst looked concerned, and glanced back up at the ship. "Don't you know how to fly this?"

"Nah, I do. I studied all the longboat styles in the academy. I just haven't flown this kind for a while," Jim had been studying the controls, but now he started pressing buttons. Very slowly, the ship started up and the sail unfurled. Once there was power, Jim took the gearstick and put it into first. He then took the hand control and squeezed, and the boat started forward slowly.

Jim took the first half hour re-learning how to fly the boat, and Myst watched him, learning herself. Once Jim was comfortable, he started to talk her through it. "Before you start, you gotta hold down the clutch. Turn on the engine, and put the boat in first gear. Next step is tricky, you've got to squeeze the accelerator and release the clutch at the same time. Too much accelerator and you get this," He demonstrated and the boat made a loud revving noise. "Too little and you'll stall it. Then you'd have to start all over again. Once you get the balance, the boat will start forward." As he said that, they started to inch forward.

"You sound like a textbook," Myst was resting her chin on her hands, and her elbows on her knees.

"You'll have to get use to it if you want to be a doctor." Jim poked back at her.

Myst sighed dramatically and flopped back into the bottom of the boat. "I want to save people's lives, but I don't want to read books." The way she said books was like the way some people talked about something gross. Jim couldn't help watching her lying there, her legs flopped over the seat, and the rest of her body gone from view. He could see a tiny sliver of her smooth dark skin between her boots and where her pants had ridden up.

Jim couldn't say anything to that for multiple reasons, so he just aimed the boat back to the ship.

"Hey, Jim," Myst sat up as they pulled underneath the doors, "If we went missing, how long until they noticed?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Well, it depends on if the tracker," He tapped a slow flashing light on the dash, "stopped working or not. The ship can track all of its longboats through the main dashboard on board. You'd have to skip a galaxy to be out of range."

"What if someone broke the tracker?" Myst sat back up on the seat, and her focus startled him.

"An alarm would sound, alerting the captain and whoever else was on deck at the time. Then we'd be free to escape any unfriendlies on the ship without being tracked." Jim stood up and took a hold of the rope that would pull the powered down boat into the ship.

Myst seemed satisfied with that answer and helped him pull it up.

The next boat they got out, Myst took the helm, and Jim talked her through it, though not before they were a safe distance away. Just in case.

"Squeeze the clutch," Jim reminded after she stalled again, "Check the gear, and give it some power."

Myst managed to drive them forward a couple of meters before she stalled it again.

"Listen to the engine. It'll tell you if you're giving it too much or too little."

The advice didn't help her, because she didn't know what to listen for. After fifteen minutes, Myst threw her hands up. "I've stalled it fifteen times now." She moved herself out of the driver's seat.

Jim smiled apologetically and ran the boat through it's paces. "It's alright, it's one of the more difficult designs. It takes loads of practice."

"You do it so well, though," Myst pointed out as he didn't stall once.

Jim shrugged. "I spent six months of practice everyday mastering this style. I still stall sometimes, but today seems like a good day."

Myst huffed, and Jim was secretly pleased to know she had another emotion other than excited.


	5. You will

Jim was once again sitting in the ropes, noting down everything that had happened in the last week. He really didn't want to write about anything personal, because personal meant writing about Myst who had somehow become his best friend and partner-in-crime since they met. He definitely did not want to talk about teaching her to fly the longboats, or how they found a balloon and hid it under Myst's room-mate's mattress and peeked through the door as they watched her freak out when it popped. Nor when Myst demonstrated a _look_ in a story she was telling by directing it at him, or the way she grabbed him when a Tarantel spider crawled up her leg and took her by surprise, or even the way she laughed it off once she realized what it was and attempted to brush the creases out of his jacket sleeve.. If he mentioned one thing, he'd have to mention them all, and his job strictly states 'all non-platonic relationships between crew members are banned from being acted upon until such time as they have been dismissed from the voyage or the voyage has ended. Failure to comply leads to an immediate dismissal from the voyage, and serious offences can result in a demotion or dismissal from the Academy and from Her Majesty's Royal Service.' Some of the ways he'd describe certain incidents would be far from platonic, and Jim kind of liked his job.

He chose something safe and wrote about his disappointment in missing the space-whale's migration, trying to stretch it out to a full paragraph. He could see an electric storm cloud approaching from his left, so he jutted down his feeling about that. A gull flew past, and he described the green and purple colours of it's wings as descriptively as he could without sounding like he had very little to talk about.

He had just woke up, barely started his free time, and for the first time since launch he had nothing to do. His clothes were clean, he did that yesterday. He had showered and eaten and already finished one of his books. Jim let his head fall back and listened to the voices on the deck. He could start on the paperwork, but he was still waiting for his coffee to kick in. It was taking it's sweet time about it.

Inspired, Jim wrote down that he was tired, and that the caffeine kick from the coffee was substandard. Then he let his head fall back against the ropes again. Slowly, he became away of a clinking noise, of metal and against wood. Not having anything else to entertain himself will, he practically rolled over and peered through the holes.

It was unsurprising at this point that Myst was there, her dark hair shining a wide range of colours as she demonstrated something to her room mate and her neighbour. Actually, now that Jim was looking, he saw that the three of them were holding knives, and Myst was showing them how to throw them. Jim wondered if the captain had authorized the use of the knives for practice, or whether Myst was simply doing her own thing again. It wouldn't be the first time she had 'forgotten' to ask for something, even when he stood right next to her.

She had pulled out a lid of a barrel, painted a target on and hung it on the weapons door, the once least likely to be opened by anyone. She was demonstrating the stance and angle that they needed to hold the blade at. Jim smiled while she ducked around both of them and adjusted how they stood.

"I know it feels weird, but I promise you this will give you the best throw," Jim could just make out her saying. Her voice rolled around, some parts easier to hear than others, and Jim found himself listening in, actually trying to hear.

One of her students was Shanti, and the other was Mond, a gorilla-like character with dark tan fur. While he normally moved around on his toes and knuckles, Myst had gotten him up on his legs with one hand around the blade, opposite foot forward and empty hand out front for balance. He looked uncomfortable, but since he was still standing, he guessed that he actually wanted to learn.

He watched them for a while, and once he felt the coffee kick in, he climbed down to watch at a closer range. They were taking their first shot of throwing when he approached, and both their knives bounced off.

Myst quickly drew a chalk like where their tows were. "Try again, but an inch further back." she directed, and they went and grabbed their knives.

Jim took the opportunity to approach. "Something tells me you didn't ask again," He commented, standing in front of her with his arms crossed.

"Actually," Myst looked up at him, smug. "I did ask."

Jim sighed. He knew this game from babysitting Delburts kids. "Good, but did she agree?"

Myst's eyes darted away from his. "She may have been asleep at the time.."

Jim couldn't contain his sigh of exasperation or the disapproving shake of his head. When he couldn't think of anything to say, he threw his hands in the air. "I'll be right back with another coffee, and we'll talk about this then."

Down in the galley, Malec was dicing up vegetables and putting them in a huge pot. His assistant was asleep on one of the tables still. He should send him to bed, but waking the poor kid up might been counter-productive. The cook worked both apprentices hard.

"'Ello, Jimboy," Malec smiled at him over the island while he diced, and his tail picked spices off the rack and placing them next to him. "Back for more coffee?"

"Your 'coffee'," Jim made quotation marks in the air, "Stinks." Jim allowed himself to yawn for emphasis.

"I'm sorry to hear that, sir. It's all we got to work with, but." He turned around to put more vegetables in the pot.

Jim moved around to the kettle and poured himself another mug, this time adding a few good heap teaspoons of sugar. If the caffeine didn't wake him up, the sugar would. He regretted it before he took the first sip, but Malec was watching him again, and Jim knew he saw him put the sugar in there. So to protect his pride, he took a mouthful. Then another. Then another. He was practically gulping it, trying to keep it off his tongue as much as possible, and once he set the mug down, he knew the hit would be hard.

He nodded a thanks to the cook and headed up the stairs, trying to keep a straight face. He felt his eyes water, and his throat started to choke up, but thankfully it was cool enough by then to not worry about scalding and burns inside his mouth.

Myst was right back at teaching her friends to throw but at the first sight of him, they quickly put the weapons away and scattered.

Jim headed for the ringleader, cutting her off before she disappeared down the stairs into the sleeping quarters. He took the opportunity to look at her expectantly. "I bet you know what I'm going to say," His voice squeaked slightly, but she didn't seem to notice.

She smiled sheepishly. "You're going to tell me what I was doing was wrong, against the rules and that if it happens again, I'll actually be in trouble?" Her hands where together in front of her, and she was rotating her thumbs around each other.

Jim bit the inside of his cheek. "That's what I said last time. Try again."

He knew right away that he shouldn't have said that or used that tone, because she had pulled out her flirt card and stepped closer, into his personal space. Jim's breath hitched, and as much as he loved his job, he wanted to be closer to her. He swallowed, trying to remember that he really, desperately, wanted his job.

She was biting at her lower lip, and was looking up at him. "I messed again, I'm sorry." Jim swore internally. "I thought since you were so close that you'd be OK with it. I really did ask, and she did actually say yes, but she was also heading to bed and probably didn't hear me ask.. I knew I should have asked Kae, but I didn't know where he was hiding, and you were writing.. I didn't think we'd hurt anyone by a little practice."

It took Jim too long to put his thoughts back in a coherent order, and he got the feeling she knew it. He took a deep breath. "Myst, I'm going to let you go, but when I talk to the captain, if she says she didn't speak to you, you will be in the brig for a few days. I can't keep letting you get away with these things, I don't want to be accused of giving you special treatment, that can cost me my job," He shrugged like it was obvious. "If it comes down to it, I'll choose my job. Remember that." He walked away, hoping his steps were even, because his breath wasn't. She was getting under his skin, and he hated the part of himself that enjoyed it.


	6. Like her

Myst was back at it again with her friends the next day, only instead of two pupils, she now had four. Jim was causally supervising from the quarterdeck as he studied with Kae, the second mate. While Jim was on his last mission, Kae still had a semester to go, so Jim had pulled some overtime to teach him some things. It gave him something to do. He watched as Shanti's blade sink in into the wood, and he smiled with amusement when she couldn't yank it out the first time.

"Ay, Hawkins," Kae clicked his fingers next to Jim's ear, making him flinch. "So how do I back?"

"Kae, Backing is first year stuff. Textbook." Jim rolled his eyes, turning back to Kae's work book.

Kae gave him a pointed look. "Yeah, doesn't mean I remember it."

Sighing, Jim rattled off the instruction. "Clew up the mainsail, stand by to heave to, square up the main, haul up the spanker, and slack off head sheets. Sound familiar?"

Kae grabbed his pen and pressed it to his book. "Ok got it. Now can you repeat it slower so I can get it down?"

"Damn it!" Jim stepped away. "You have one semester to go before you graduate, and you know your parents will let you do other things if you want after that. You don't have to go for another rank, you can just stay a lieutenant and go.. I don't know, start a solo music career or become an abstract painter. All you have to do is remember this stuff just until you finish." Jim leant back on his heels, glad he got it out at last.

Kae bit the inside of his cheek. "I guess I'll go get my textbook out of my bag later and flick through it again."

Jim took this as an opportunity to leave, and closed his journal. Jim had talked to Kae's family on many occasions, they had been friends since Kae started, and all his father wanted out of his only son was to give the academy a go for two years, and that was all. Jim knew, he'd played middle-man between the awkward family when Kae was too scared to talk to his parents about literally anything. The only reason the father wanted Kae to go to the academy was because nearly one hundred generations of his family line had been space sailors, and the tradition wasn't going to fall while he was alive. Honestly, with a history like that Jim could understand. It was an unfortunate circumstance, but he had almost finished, and Jim felt the need to help him through.

Jim was making his way back to the sleeping quarters when Shanti appeared in front of him, her knife in her hand. "I bet I can throw this better than you can now." She taunted.

"Bet you can't," Jim challenged back, snatching it out of her hand.

He placed his journal on the second step, out of the way, and moved over to the target. He probably didn't have to puff out his chest, but it was time he had a little fun.

Myst watched him walk over, throwing knife in hand, and smirked. "About time you joined us."

"Yeah, but Shanti better hope my throw is off today." He turned back to his friend. "Wagers?"

Before she could set a bet, Myst stepped up next to them. "Loser has to scrub the deck."

"That's your job, why would we want to do that?" Shanti poked Myst's knee with her finger.

"I don't know, I though it would give you both better incentive to win.." She started to step backwards, a playful smile on her lips, when Jim stuck out his hand.

"You're closer to the ground," he said, "You'd be better off doing it."

She laughed in disbelief. "I'm closer to the ground so I can tell you all the spots you missed." She took his hands and they shook.

Wagers set, Myst set the goal for them. "Three and a half turn throw, first to stick it wins it, bonus points if you can make it fancy." She handed both of them three knives and stepped back in unison with all the onlookers. "Ready, set, throw."

Jim threw the first one, and it bounced off, cluttering to the floor. As he stepped an inch back, Shanti took aim and threw, missing the target, but sticking it in the door behind. Before she could throw her hands up in celebration, Myst altered the rule. "First to stick _in the target_."

Shanti sighed loudly, and got herself ready to throw. By this point, Jim was aiming his second throw, which hit the edge of the target, but not deep enough to stay, and it, too, cluttered to the deck. Shanti readied herself, took aim and threw again. She hit the target, but like Jim, it wasn't a deep enough landing, and it fell off. She gave Myst a 'I could have won by now if you hadn't changed the rule' motion, but left it alone.

Jim had moved another inch or so back, lined up the shot, threw, and won. It stuck just outside of the centre, point nice and deep into the wood. He turned smugly to Shanti, not saying anything and just letting the crowed clap and cheer.

She returned his grin with a look that didn't need translation, staring him down. With a sudden flick of her wrist, she threw the knife, not bothering to take aim. Really, it was more of a tantrum that a challenge, Jim thought to himself.

The clapping was cut short while they stared each other down, but they didn't look away until they heart Myst swear mildly under her breath and fall to her knees. When they finally looked over, Myst was clutching her arm with the throwing knife neatly impaled in the back of her shoulder, disbelief written all over her face. Jim had to give it to her, he would have been much more vocal about the whole situation.

* * *

The doctor on board and ordered a few of the crew members to move her down into the galley and had another go fetch a blanket so she didn't bleed all over the table. The cook boiled some water and brought a few of his cleanest rags and some alcohol to help while Doctor Rruebn fetched her medical kit. Once everything was together, she instructed everyone to leave and give them some privacy. Jim was pardoned from the request, since the accident happened under his watch, and because he was her closet friend on the ship. He was pardoned, but he had to help.

Before they began, Rruebn pulled out a thick piece of leather. "Sweetheart, I'm going to put some anaesthetic in your arm through a needle, but it's not going to kick in for a moment, so bit down on this." Without waiting for a reply, she was already shoving the piece into her mouth. "Bite down, there's a good girl," She brushed her hand over Myst's forehead and it came away slick. "Jim," She turned to the first mate. "How squeamish about blood are you?" she asked.

Jim shrugged. "Well I was originally in a Disney movie and they never showed blood in those, so I guess I'll find out, huh?" He knelt down next to her, looking at the wound. It wasn't bleeding yet, but just by looking at it he could tell that the chances the blade had hit bone were much higher than he was comfortable with.

Rruebn pulled out a needle filled with a clear liquid and slowly injected into Myst shoulder. "Give that a moment, and you probably wont feel a thing." Once she disposed of the needle, she picked up a needle and thread. "Jim, wash your hands in the alcohol and hold this for me." Very carefully, she threaded the surgical needle and handed it to him. "I'm going to pull out the knife slowly, so take that rag over there," She pointed to one the cook brought over, "Soak it in the hot water and press it just under the wound. It'll pick up the blood when it starts to come out. Once it's free, bring it up over the wound and apply pressure, got it?" She instructed. Jim nodded uncomfortably and they set to work.


	7. If you

It had been four days, and Myst was irritable. It wasn't that she wasn't healing, it was the days she was required to take off, and that was taking into account her racial bonus as a Margroe. Jim thought Myst was a lot of things: fast, funny, hard working, always took up a challenge; but when they were handing out things like patience, she never showed up.

Even though she wasn't suppose to do any hard work, Jim always found her doing something: learning to throw with her off hand, peeling vegetables for the cook, reading Kae's textbook when he forgot to put it away. With no way to expel the excess energy, sometimes she just walked around the ship or climbed, one handed, up the ropes to look out at the slowly passing galaxies.

As Jim was finishing his shift, Myst was attempting to tie a sheet bend. A simple knot, but it really required two hands, not one hand strapped across her chest. By the time Jim reached her she had resorted to biting one half of the knot to hold it in place. He couldn't imagine the rope tasting nice at all.

"Hey, you holding up alright?" He asked, squatting next to where she sat on the deck floor.

"Eyah, O'm doong fuwn," She managed to get out as she struggled with the rope.

He smirked, amused. He could see her dominant hand flinching and twitching, wanting to help. "Want an extra hand?"

"Nooph, uh goh ish," She replied, but in her attempt to be coherent, the knot fell apart in her hands. Myst groaned loudly, throwing her head back in frustration.

"It is a hard knot," Jim offered, picking up the piece from where she let it drop over her lap, "With one hand, at least," He added when he managed to pull it together in a matter of seconds.

"Doesn't matter, I'm useless without both arms," Myst muttered, still looking up.

Jim snorted. "In the last three days, I've seen you challenge Kae on pretty much the entire of his textbook and then some, you've learnt to throw a knife with your off hand and hit your mark perfectly, you managed to teach three other crew members how to cartwheel _with one hand_ , and you haven't pissed anyone off once. You've asked permission for everything you've done-" Jim caught himself before he said anything more, "You are far from useless."

Myst glanced at him, a curious look in her eyes. "You think so?"

Jim's eyes met hers evenly. "I do."

She shifted in her seat, almost uncomfortable, but a blush was making it's way up to her cheeks, highlighting her soft cheekbones-

Jim mentally shook himself out of that thought and glanced away, instead choosing to stare at a knot in the wood in front of him.

"Um, thanks," Myst mumbled, and she shrugged, brushing it off. "I don't think you're useless either."

Now Jim was fighting back a blush. Before he could say anything in return, which probably would have ended up embarrassing him further, she rose and moved across the deck and down into the galley. It wasn't a fast walk, but it was still the walk of someone who was uncomfortable and trying to be polite without actually looking back. It definitely wasn't the walk of someone who wanted the other person to follow.

Jim sat himself back against the railing, debating what he did wrong while also trying to convince him that this was the right thing. He raked a hand through his hair. It wasn't that he never had crushes on crew mates before, and this didn't feel any different, but there was something different about her that stopped it from just going away. Her eyes drew him in, but he wasn't ignorant to the fact that every other crew member felt the same. There was her dark skin, a rare colour on Montressor, and usually only possessed by the higher ranked officers and officials. She wasn't patient, but she was empathetic and she seemed to seek out the people feeling down or upset and listen to them. Sometimes she'd offer suggestions, but it was mostly giving someone an ear to talk to, and half the crew loved her for that alone.

He was lying in bed not long later, willing himself to fall asleep. His mind was too busy though, trying to quench the images of Myst in his mind, of conversations they will never have. Every time he curled up on his side, he remembered her her body felt against his when he walked into her two days ago. He had been following her around, trying to talk her down from boredom-induced madness when she had stopped in her tracks only inches in front of him. They had managed to stop themselves from falling onto the deck, but that half a moment, when her body rested against his before his momentum sent them stumbling, was burnt into his brain. So he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling above him.

After another few minutes of that, he gave up and selected a book off his desk. It was an old favourite of his, one that told a story of adventure and magic. He opened to a random page and started reading from there, hoping that this would set him to sleep. Alas, several chapters in, he was still quite awake. Which was good, because there was a timid knock on his door.

"Come in," Jim encouraged, and Myst stepped into the room, her eyes not meeting his. Jim sat up, leaving the book to close itself, already forgotten. "Are you alright?"

She shrugged, and leant against the door frame. Her hands were behind her and she held something out of sight. "Shanti.. Said something.." She mumbled, and the door behind her gave a click as it bounced off the lock and settled a few centermeters from the frame.

"Shanti says a lot of things," Jim tried to tread carefully. There was one thing in particular he didn't want Myst hearing, but he wasn't going to give it away in case it wasn't that. "What did she say that concerns you?" He vaguely remembered that he was suppose to promise confidentiality in times like this, especially if it was a serious matter.

She shrugged again, shuffling her feet. "She said, that you- you know, might have feelings for.." Jim's face paled before she had the chance to finish. "For this scrub brush."

It took him a moment to realize what was going on, and take in the sight of the brush in her outstretched hand, and finally the sniggering laughter from behind the door. Unmistakeably Shanti, and a couple of other voices, too. Myst was still standing in the doorway and though she was fighting back her smile, her eyes watered and her shoulder shook.

"Is it true?" Myst demanded playfully. "Do you like this brush more than you like me?" She huffed and pretended to be offended. "I should have known. You were too nice to me, I should have seen it. You were just using me!" She tossed the brush at Jim and marched out of the room, letting the door close quietly behind her. Their laughter could still be heard as they moved down the hall.

The brush was still in his hands as it dawned on him that he'd been pranked, and for the first time since starting as an officer, too.


	8. Give her

Since _The Prank_ , Jim had been trying to get back at Myst and Shanti in any way he could, but either he was really bad at it, or they were always ready. They had gotten him a few more times in the last week, a fart cushion under his chair as he sat down; passing him the salt for his coffee instead of sugar; ringing the change over bell an hour early, making Jim think he'd slept in and was late for his shift.. That one had gotten them into a whole lot of trouble though, not just by the captain.

So far, Jim had failed in passing off Morph as a spoon with dinner (It saw Changer and flew away); failed in tucking a fart cushion under Shanti as she sat down (He missed and ended up touching her butt, much to the amusement of everyone); and only managed to panic Kae when he pretended to fall off the ship. He thought at least that last one would get her attention, but she barely glanced his way at the call of her name.

Jim saw a great opportunity that day. Myst was on her hands and knees scrubbing the deck and behind her were a pair of buckets. One of them was empty and on it's side, with Myst was in the middle of it's contents, and the other was still full of soapy water. He approached her from behind, keeping his pace even so even if she did see him, she wouldn't be suspicious. He paused by the railing and looked out over at the stars, but watching her out of the corner of her eye. He read somewhere that Magrows had an innate ability to sense when someone was looking in their direction or planning to interact, but until this prank battle, he hadn't believe it. Now, though, he kept this thoughts and his body language looking straight out at the sky, just in case.

Playing it slow, he waited nearly five minutes before approaching her and picking up the empty bucket.

"Myst!" he called as he tipped the bucket upside down over her head.

She squealed, and slid away from him, hands above her head to deflect water that was never coming. By the time she realised she was still dry, Jim was laughing victoriously.

It wasn't until Myst joined in that he realised maybe the circumstances were too great. He didn't get a chance to develop that thought, though, because the next moment the other bucket was tipped over his head.

He shouted in surprise and turned around, only to find Kae holding the other bucket with a smug smile.

"Don't pretend to fall off the ship next time, ok?" He grinned.

* * *

Jim was just pulling on a dry pair of pants when there was a thud in the floorboards above his head. It was quickly followed by a shout, another thud, and what sounded like a cheer.

He buttoned up as he raced out of his room and practically flew up the stairs. "What is going on?" he demanded, but he probably didn't need to ask.

At the top of the stairs there were several figures brawling, Jim couldn't make out who right away, but the short, black hair was a dead give-away, seeing as Jim and Myst were the only two on the ship with hair.

Shanti stepped to his side quickly. "We didn't start it, Bophie and Nebs approached us and started messing with Myst's work. They wouldn't back down when we told them to go away, so-"

Jim had heard enough, and he shouted loud over the din. "OI! I want every one of you to shut up and sit down!"

After a couple of seconds of struggling, the group of limbs broke apart, breathing heavily.

Myst remained crouched threateningly, as did Nebs, but Bophie and Samu sat down on the deck with the audience of the scene.

Jim strode forward. "I've had a witness account of what happened, now I need to know from both of you," he said, looking evenly at the two still standing.

"I'm sick of her thinking she can mess with everyone on this ship and we're all going to be ok!" Nebs growled. "Some of us have jobs or sleep or something more important than getting messed around by a kid,"

"I'm _trying_ to lighten the mood," Myst argued back, "If you haven't noticed, everyone here has been a bit of a drag lately,"

"Because we're too busy focusing on what actually matters around here," Nebs glared at her.

"Well if you want to live your little boring life, just say the word and I won't include you,"

"You can't help but to include us, it's not like it's a very big ship or anything!" Nebs snapped.

"It's a huge ship!" She threw her arms out wide, gesturing to the size of the ship. Jim disagreed with her, though. "Our schedules aren't even the same."

"With you cackling and scheming, no one can get any sleep any time you're awake," Nebs stepped closer to her, balling up his fists.

"Maybe there's a nicer way to tell me to shut up than to kick me in the ribs,"

"Maybe if I'd had some sleep over the past week, I might have considered it!"

"Ahem," The captain vocalised behind Jim, "While this is a very interesting story, I would prefer to have it retold, from the beginning, in my office, if you please."

Kae was at her side instantly, and both men knew exactly what she expected. Jim stepped forward and took a hold of both of Nebs's hands behind his back, straightening him up. Kae did the same to Myst, but since he was actually dressed for duty, he cuffed the woman. She took a moment to resist, but collected herself quickly.

In the state room, they retold their tale, but it went south quickly, no matter how they told it, and the back tracking only made it worse.

"Let me get this straight," Alcor tapped the fingers of one of her eight hands on the desk, "Ms Kone'on, you've been reported to have started unauthorised training in knife throwing, not once, but twice, receiving a first and third level warning, and a second level warning when you rang the shift bell; I really didn't think I had to mention not to ring that. And now I have reports of you 'pranking' other crew members with particular ferocity on your first mate, and to top the list, you've now been caught fighting, and trying to tell me you didn't start it? I'm seeing a lot of evidence against you, Kone'on."

Jim could see Nebs suppressing a smug smile, and in return, Jim suppressed the need to punch him.

"In complete honesty," Alcor continued, "I'm not seeing much reason to keep you on at all." Myst was nodding solemnly, "So I'll make you a deal. We go planet-side in a month. If I get another complaint or I hear something I really don't want to hear, I'll leave you there."

Myst nodded quickly as the captain turned to Nebs. "Mr Ulah, despite not taking the fall for this current incident, your history has not been quite as clear as you make it out to be and this is considered a third level warning for you. I will issue you the same threat: We go planet side in a month. Should I hear something that would disappoint me in selecting you for this mission, I will leave you there, also."

Nebs agreed quickly, and the pair were removed of their cuffs. As they left the room and headed to their quarters, as directed, Jim put his borrowed cuffs back in the chest of draws by the door.

"Mr Hawkins," Alcor turned away from Kae and watched Jim close the drawer. "I understand you are comfortable with your body, which is a good trait to have, however, please go put on a shirt," Kae was looking everywhere but at Jim, his cheeks flushed slightly. "I can't get Kae to focus while you stand there half naked." Kae really blushed now, and he made a good effort at looking the ceiling.

It was then that Jim realised he was only wearing his pants so he made a dash back to his room to finish getting dressed.


	9. A chance

It was dark when Jim started his shift. They had moved away from all the stars and suns that gave off light, and they where now in open and lonely space. Keeping watch was too easy. One simply had to walk a circle around the ship and if one didn't see any lights, you didn't have to look again for hours. Alcor still demanded that the lights on the ship be kept at their lowest setting and only on when necessary so they didn't attract any attention from any other ships in the area that were doing the same.

He was sitting at the desk on the quarterdeck rereading his journal and adding things where they needed to be added. When he was younger, he had a fear that teachers and professors could tell how long something was written on the page, so they would know if he made any last minute changes or additions. It was good, because he made sure he did it right the first time, but crippling when he read back and saw a mistake. Only the last three months in the academy had he finally been able to get over that fear, but it still made him nervous from time to time. Thankfully, this was not one of those times.

He was actually really impressed with himself because Myst's name was only there a handful of times, and the rest she was referred to as a 'crew member', and he didn't make any comments about how she looked or spoke or acted that might have seemed flirtatious or obsessive.

He could see her now, down on the main deck, polishing the railing. He couldn't see her face, but in the dim light he could see her shoulders working under her light grey shirt. She was bare-foot, despite the cool air, and Jim lost all train of thought while watching her.

"Jim!" A voice from above called out. He looked up to the crows nest, and Shanti was pointing at something in the distance. Following her direction, he watched as what he had mistaken for a distant star was now slightly but noticeably bigger. There was barely anyone on the deck, but since Myst followed the exchange, that probably wouldn't last. She had already put down her rag and was moving towards the Galley where everyone else was.

"Keep and eye on them," Jim called back up, and went to wake up the Captain. She wasn't impressed at being woken, but once she understood the situation, she was dressed and in control within a minute.

The ship, which was definitely a ship now, was still getting larger, and it looked like they were going to be on a collision course, or close to it unless someone did something.

As Alcor was picking up the radio by the control panel, a cracked voice came though. It was still broken up by the distance, but after a moment, words started to make sense.

"Mayday! Mayday! This is the Royal Navy Jewel Fleet _Ruby_ requesting assistance! Mayday! Do you copy?"

"We hear you, _Ruby_ ," Alcor sent back, "This is Captain Fray Alcor of the Royal Navy Jewel Fleet _Turquoise._ What seems to be the problem?"

There was a long pause. By this point, most of the crew had found it's way onto the deck and was watching out in all directions. Not much messed with a Jewel Fleet ship, and if one as renowned as _Ruby_ had been attacked, it was a threat to everyone in the area.

"Long story," The voice replied quickly, "It contains a pirate attack, the destruction of our AG Generator, and a loss of controls. We have crew members floating for miles back and we can't turn around!"

What low voices had been talking stopped as they all rushed to the side of the ship the _Ruby_ was approaching.

Alcor was about to reply when Kae stepped up. "How do we know it's them? What if it's a trap and they're the pirates?"

Jim gave him a side-wards smile at his initiative.

"We don't, Kae, Until we see their faces for themselves-"

Shanti dropped onto the deck beside Jim. "Captain," she addressed, and in her hand was a telescope. "They're wearing Navy uniforms, but I don't recognise any of the faces. I have to agree with Kae on this one."

A frown furrowed it's way into Alcor's usually relaxed face, and the radio crackled again. "Captain Alcor, our own captain has been lost and we request assistance in retrieving our lost crew."

"Who are you?"

There was barely a pause "Lieutenant Sasha Phosype, Third mate and second year graduate of the Academy. We request assistance urgently, we are losing more crew as we speak."

"No!" Myst exclaimed, at the same time Jim shouted, "She's my friend!"

Jim turned on her, puzzled. "What?

"I-," Myst started.

"We know her, and I trust her, and we have to help." Jim stared his captian down.

Myst looked like she was going to say something else, but after a moment, she just turned on her heel and joined the rest of the crew in preparation for the rescue.

Jim knew that voice and her name, and felt obligated to help. He nodded to Alcor, who spoke back through the radio accepting their request for help.

The ship was turned about quickly, angling towards _Ruby_ and soon they could see the floating passengers.

Alcor instructed Kae to lead a rescue team to help them, and they disappeared below deck. They were close enough to see people moving about on the ship when the longboats scooted out from under the boat.

Jim's stomach turned to knots when their cries and shouts reached his ears, their panic panicking him in turn. Alcor stood steady by his side though, as the ship approached, and seemed unbaffled by the circumstances.

The two ships pulled alongside each other and the _Turquoise'_ s mechanic dashed across, grabbing a hold of the railing as he made his way to the obviously damaged AG Generator. The rest of the crew, Jim and Alcor included, fetched the remaining hovering crew and brought them onto their ship. A lot of them were taken straight down to the infirmary, but the mostly uninjured ones just lay moaning on the deck, space-sick and enjoying the gravity.

Jim was laying Sasha down on the deck of his ship, she was a funny shade of green, when Myst appeared at his side. There was a lifeline already around her waist and her rescue lay on the floor next to them.

"Jim, I want to apolog-" her eyes flickered to Sasha. "But you can go jump off the ship." She spat, before jumping back into the weightlessness.

Jim was thoroughly confused, but Sasha grabbed his wrist before he could leave. "Don't be too hard on her," She muttered, her eyes lolling around clearly trying to keep the contents of her stomach inside herself, "It is well deserved."

He tried not to entertain that thought while he grabbed the last of the passengers and set them down. Myst was already going over the injuries of another person and didn't meet his eyes when he looked at her. He turned away to focus on his work.

Within an hour, most of the longboats were back with some very thankful navy officers. Jim looked around for another friendly face, but there was only Sasha in this crew he knew, and she was debriefing with Alcor. Still, Jim wondered over, catching the last part of her story.

"Did you recognise which band it was?" Alcor was asking, taking notes.

Sasha shook her head. "It all happened so fast. They were on us in moments, they must have snuck up on us from underneath. They didn't want us dead, just stunned, and by the time we all came too, they were blowing up the Artificial Gravity Generator and were leaving us to fend for ourselves. I didn't get a chance to check what they had stolen-"

The radio crackled to life, cutting her off. "Captain, Kae says he's found the Captain of the _Ruby_ "

Alcor snatched up the radio while Sasha bounced on her toes. Jim stood next to her and took her hand quietly, and she laced her fingers between his. She was still as beautiful as the day he met her, maybe more. They had gone out a few times, back in his first year, but their personalties clashed too much to ever have a romantic relationship. It had been easy to slide back into a platonic relationship after that, and both of them had been quite relieved. She met his eyes with her own white, iris-less ones and Jim could see the worry and fear hidden behind them.

"It'll be OK," Jim whispered to her. "Whatever happens, you've got me."

Sasha gave him a weak smile. "I'm just glad you're here and safe."

Alcor was still talking through the radio to Mitchel, who was acting as a middle person since Kae was out of radio contact at his distance.

"Kae says Captain Oxfrodly was shot through the head, Captain. He's dead."

* * *

Sasha had fallen to the floor, collapsing in a heap, muttering sounds of denial. Jim had wrapped his arms around her, and listened to the rest of the conversation, though he didn't remember much of the words. He gathered they were at least another hour away from the ship, and they had found many more dead crew members before the captain himself.

Alcor was trying to ask Sasha if she knew anything about the dead passengers, but she shook her head and repeated that they had knocked her out, and anything that had happened while she was out she couldn't have known about. By this point, she was crying, curled up in a ball on the floor, covering her head with her hands as if it would protect her from the painful truth.

Jim's heart ached for her, but he couldn't do anything more.

He set out to send the longboat drivers back out again to retrieve the last of the crew, and a mournful quiet fell over the ship as they left. He didn't mention that the Captain had been found, or that he was dead; that would be Sasha's job as the only one left in charge.

Looking out across the space, he could see the tail end of _Ruby_ disappearing into the distance. The mechanic was still on board, trying to fix whatever was wrong with it, but soon enough she'd be coming back. The captain only gave her as long as it took before she was too far to see.

Myst's words were still heavy on his mind when there was a bright flash of light, and a couple of seconds later, the sound of an explosion, from the same area the ship was just moments before. Jim almost doubled over, watching the light flare up as bright as a star before disappearing into the darkness. It was the brightest thing for systems in any direction, and it caught the attention of everyone. Some people swore, some people chocked, most people were silent, stunned by what just happened.

Alcor and Sasha were by his side in seconds, and Sasha gave out a howl. Even Alcor was looking green.

Jim had barely turned around to face the crew when the ship burst into action. All of the supposed sick and injured were up and moving with alarming speed, and within a few seconds, Jim's crewmates were down and out in various heaps on the deck. Jim had sprung into the fray, but was quickly grappled from behind and forced still. There was a blow to his head, and Jim, too, collapsed.


	10. I guess

**Chapter 10**

Consciousness and not washed over him several times, and several more times that he couldn't have remembered. The idea that he was in his own bed, in his own room, lingered, but nothing was certain any more. Each time, there was a moan, loud in his ears as if someone was laying next to him and was in pain. By the time he could make a coherent thought, though, his mother walked in and stroked the hair from his forehead. She would titter, saying he needed a haircut, but she was warm and kind and _there,_ so he didn't notice the prick in his arm, or the grogginess wash over him, and by the time he was asleep, he hadn't even realised it.

* * *

Jim rubbed a hand over his face, yawning. He was exhausted, as if instead of sleep he'd done three days of Academy Training on coffee and no rest. Actually, Jim thought it over, that's exactly what it felt like. His mind refused to stick to one thought, and there was a buzz in his body that made him want to move about his room and stretch, but all his muscles screamed to stay still. He did work out that he was in his private room, still on the ship, but somehow it was empty. His jacket on the back of the door was gone, the door to his wardrobe was open and clearly empty, and his books, notebooks and pencils had been removed from his desk.

Jim pushed himself out of bed quietly, as the memory of yesterday's events washed over him. _Pirates_ , was all he could think. _Mutiny_ didn't seem to cover it at this point, though he certainly didn't count it out. He wasn't restrained to the bed, but the door was probably locked. As his feet swung to the floor from under the sheet, something cluttered to the floor, something heavy and solid and something that bounced and rolled. The noise wasn't acknowledged right away, but sure enough, his journal and a pencil was on the floor when he looked.

All his movements felt slow and lazy. His arm didn't want to hold the edge of the desk, his legs didn't want to support his weight, his eyes didn't want to focus, and his body definitely didn't want to find any balance. He felt himself close to toppling, and the world swam around him as the blood drained from his head, pulled away by gravity. Even his vision narrowed to a tiny speck as the world darkened around him; He had been lying down too long. Once he felt like himself, or more than he had a few minutes ago, he knelt down and picked the book up off the floor.

He could see his writing, Academy trained writing, on each page, including half an entry from the day before the attack. After that, though, it turned into a messy, almost scrawl across the pages. It took a few minutes to decipher, but it turned out to be reports on his health.

" _Hawkins woke again around 0700, calling out for his mother. I gave him another shot, and set him back to sleep. They don't seem to be lasting as long on him as they are the rest of the crew. Humans are a frustrating race. I wish he would just stay unconscious..._

_"Hawkins woke again around 2000, calling out for his father. I gave him another shot and he fell asleep shortly after..._

_"Hawkins woke again around 1420. He wasn't calling anyone's name, just moaning. I let him wake up enough to eat half a serving of soup and a glass of water before giving him another shot. He tried to talk to me, but he couldn't get my name right. He called me several different people, some I know and some I don't, before falling asleep again..._

_"Hawkins woke again around 1300..._

_Hawkins woke again around 0400..._

_Hawkins woke again around 1230..._

_Hawkins woke again..._

_Hawkins woke again..._

_Hawkins woke again..._

_Hawkins..._

_Hawkins..._

_Hawkins..._

Jim closed the book. The entries had been dated from the day of the attack, and if the book was to be trusted, it wasn't yesterday it happened, but nearly two weeks ago. Jim ran a hand through his hair- Or lack there of. At some point someone had cut it short again, practically a crew cut. It spiked and tickled the palm of his hand. He never wore his hair this short, except for formal occasions.

There was a noise outside the door, and Jim set the journal and the pencil back on the floor where it had fallen. He didn't have time to fake being asleep, but he put on his most exhausted and confused face he could as he settled himself on the edge of the bed. It wasn't that difficult, because that was still exactly how he felt.

"You're awake," her voice floated in as she opened the door. Sasha. "I'm sorry about locking you in here; everyone else wanted you in the brig where we knew you couldn't escape, but those years of friendship don't account for nothing here. I hope you're not feeling too unwell," As she stepped into the room the smell of a warm broth filled his nose, and Jim's stomach couldn't help but growl in anticipation.

"What's going on?" Jim asked, hoping his voice didn't sound too steady.

She shushed him with an affectionate hiss, "Sweetheart, don't ask questions now, just eat this. It'll fill you right up, then you can walk around a bit, stretch those poor arms and legs. You've been cooped up in here so long," Her voice was soft and gentle, but there was something frightening about the click of the lock behind her as the door closed. Jim nodded obediently, trying to act compliant. It would have been nice to know what he was like every other time he was awake, that way he could fake it better, but he figured tired and obedient was a safe option, and the more likely out of the many choices.

It was only a small severing of the stew and a glass of water, but true to her word, Sasha let him walk around the room, even let him ask a few questions about what was going on, but she answered each of them cryptically, or with short answers. Her favourite answer, though, was 'I can't tell you that.' It's what she used when he posed questions like: Where are we going?; Who are we seeing?; How long until we get there?; Is everyone else OK?; What do you want from me?; Why do you keep knocking me out?

"Is Myst OK?"

"Myst?" Sasha asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you know, dark skin, black hair, Magrow, hates you?" Jim replied, impatient, but finally getting a more personal answer from his friend.

"I wouldn't say she _hates_ me," Sasha's straight face turned into a sly smile.

Jim leant against the wall, crossing his arms in front of his body. "She told you to jump off the ship. What else could it be?"

Sasha broke into a laugh then. "No, dear, that's called self preservation. Does the Monkey avoid the Lion den because it hates the beast?" She shook her head.

Jim thought over the words. "Nope, you lost me." He finally admitted.

"So tell me what you do know, or what you have guessed, at least." She offered, sitting back on the bed.

"Myst knows you, and she really didn't want to help you. She told you to jump without the slightest look of shame or guilt, and-"

"Myst doesn't feel guilt." Sasha cut him off. "To feel guilt, one must first have a heart. If she has fooled you into thinking she has one of those, then you are in more trouble than you could imagine." She stood up from the bed and motioned for him to sit. When he made no move, she pulled a small device out of her pocket. "I do have to check your vital signs, make sure you're not getting any lasting effects." When Jim still didn't move, she sighed. "If you don't, I don't really care. We've got a fair bit of information backed up with your response recovery and to be completely honest, it's good enough for us to continue with the treatment."

"Treatment?" Jim questioned, but she was already at his side. A flash of something thin and silver caught his eye, but it was already in his arm, his movements still too slow to react properly. He had a faint recollection of this happening before, even asking those same questions, but she was already leading him to the bed and telling him to lay down.

* * *

Next time he remembered waking, the journal and pencil were gone and he was alone again in the room. "Sasha!" he called out, but instead of a shout it was raspy and this throat ached; as if he had been shouting. He probably had, he just wouldn't remember. He tried a couple more times, and finally there was a noise on the other side of the door. By this time, he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He meant to move to the desk chair, but that was no longer in the room. Even the hinges on the wardrobe were removed.

Myst stepped into the room, her cheerful and enthusiastic demeanour from before the attack gone. "If you plan on trying to kill me again, tell me now." Her voice sounded bored, and somewhere in his memory he remembered her asking that very question before.

"I don't want to kill you." Jim said, watching her intently. Everything about her had changed. She still looked the same, her eyes still glittered when she turned her head and her hair still caught the light when she moved, but there was nothing cheerful about her now. She just looked cold and unwelcoming.

"You may not remember, but you said that last time, too." The door closed behind her, locking, and she turned to face it. It took a moment for him to realise she was removing the hook on the back of the door.

Once she was done, she tucked it into her pocket. "You should have listened. You all should have." She faced him. "If you had, we wouldn't be here." She was so matter-of-fact that Jim didn't say anything. "You remember talking to Sasha?" Jim nodded. "Good, one of those has stuck. We'll see if you remember talking to me, since you clearly don't remember trying to kill me. Best of luck with that." She turned and the door was opened, letting her out.

Jim was alone in the room again.

After a few minutes, though, she came back. There was a fog watch in her hand, and she was checking it as she walked back through the door. In her other hand, she held his lunch. A small section of meat and some roughly cut vegetables. "Times up, let's see how this goes. Arm." She commanded.

Jim shook his head. "No. No more."

She sighed, dropping the plate on his desk. "Give me your arm, James."

He scooted back against the wall, clutching his shoulder where dozens of tiny scabs had formed. "No."

Myst threw her arms up in exasperation and left the room. "Fine! See what I care. This will be one hell of a boring trip for you, though." After that, her words were muffled by the door.

Jim's attention was drawn quickly to the meal waiting for him. He didn't know how long ago it had been since he ate, but he didn't want to waste the opportunity. Sasha would be back soon, and she didn't mess around.

After the lean portion, Jim yawned and lay back against the headboard. Vaguely, he thought about how it would have been smart to hide the drug in his food, but he never got the chance to finish his thought.

* * *

The next time Jim was aware of waking, he didn't even look around at first. He just threw an arm over his face to wipe the sleep from his eyes, scratching the skin just above his eyebrow. He changed his mind about denying he was awake, and looked at the contents of his hand.

There was a slip of paper, scrunched and balled up in his hands. He didn't remember holding it, or where it came from, but as he struggled to wake up, he unfolded it.

**_Slip this under the door when you're awake_ **

**_We need to talk_ **

The note wasn't signed, but heartless or not, Myst's cursive writing was still smooth and fancy.

Jim sat up groggily and stumbled towards the door. He had barely slipped it under the crack when the lock released. Jim scooted back, narrowly missing a wooden door to the head.

"Sorry, I don't have a lot of time, I just hope there's enough for you to remember this conversation," Myst whispered, closing the door behind her. She looked at him on the floor. "Well, get up. I've got you a change of clothes." She thrust a pile of fabric into his arms. "I even managed to get you a pair of socks." She dumped his boots on the floor in front of him.

He started removing his current shirt and it was only then he realised how bad it actually smelt. "When was the last time I had a shower?"

Myst waved it off, as if it wasn't important. "Right now I've got to get you ready. At least somewhat."

"Ready for what?" Jim pulled off his socks and tossed them and the shirt into the far corner of the room. They still stuck.

Myst gave an exasperated sigh. "Start with a more simple question and we'll work from there, ok?" She lay back on his crumpled bed.

"Fine." Jim felt himself getting snappy already. "Where are we?"

"Lagoon Nebula. Specifically, the Third Quadrant, System of Nev. We're about to dock at the planet Lexa."

"Ok," Jim thought this over for a moment. "How long has it been since you took over?"

"Nearly three weeks."

Jim didn't say anything for a moment. Finally, he swallowed, but his voice still squeaked. "Three weeks? What about the rest of the crew?"

It was Myst flicked her wrist in a disinterested manner. "Most of them are fine."

"Alcor? Bophie? Nebs? Kae?" Jim's voice cracked again, "Shanti?"

Myst scrunched up her nose, but answered. "Alcor was killed shortly after you were knocked out, Bophie and Nebs are in solitude; injured but fine. Kae is crying in the brig like a wuss. Shanti.. She's fine."

Jim's voice darkened. "Define 'fine'."

Myst winced, staring up at the ceiling. "Sasha made her an offer, and she may have accepted.."

Jim felt himself go cold, but he pressed. "What kind of offer?"

"The kind where she get's to stay in our room so long as she doesn't try to free anyone."

"She joined you?" Jim felt his voice rise.

When Myst didn't answer, Jim's anger deflated slightly. "Traitor," He muttered. His best friend.

"Please just ask another question." Myst voice was quiet.

Jim sighed angrily but peeled the old pants away from his skin, where it had stuck. Myst turned her head to face the wall, giving him the illusion of privacy.

"Why, pray tell, are we at the planet Lexa?" Jim fought to keep his voice even.

A smirk found it's way onto her lips. "That, my dear, requires a backstory. Specifically a story, for that matter. Do you know the legend of the Mysterious Assassin?"

He sat himself on the edge of the bed, since there was nowhere else to sit apart from the floor, and changed his socks. "Yeah, I know it."

Myst nodded. "Do you remember how it ended?"

Jim let out an angry breath of air. "What has this got to do with anything?"

Gritting her teeth, Myst repeated her question. "Do you remember how it ended?"

"It ended up with the assassin getting beheaded for his crimes."

"And?"

She could see the gears grinding in his frustrated little head.

"And his daughter finding his hidden study with all his files and the mask..

"And the daughter took over the family business." She finished for him, sitting up. "Do you remember how you found Treasure Planet after reading about it in a book? Well, this is another of those situations."

It was almost funny, watching him try to figure it out.

"Then who-" He turned to her, eyes wide. "You. You're- You're an assassin? The Assassin?"

She shrugged. "My mother thought it would be a hilarious joke to call me 'Mistrie'. In her defence, I was never supposed to take over the job, that was supposed to fall to my brother, but one thing lead to another and here I am."

"So you failed?"

"Excuse me?" Myst's eyes snapped back to meet his. "I.. _what?_ "

"Failed?" Jim felt unsure, like he was asking instead of saying. "If you're an assassin, and I'm still alive, doesn't that mean you failed?"

She scoffed, and Jim wondered idly how anyone could believe she didn't actually have a heart. He wondered how he could believe she did. "There is more than one job as an assassin. I'm also a collector of fine and precious artefacts."

Jim winced. "I'm being reduced to a 'thing' now, am I?"

She shrugged. "I don't make the rules, I just deliver the cargo."

"Ok, so my next question, you're delivering me somewhere, that means someone wants me, right? Who wants me?"

Jim had the opportunity to watch her think it over, this time. He was starting to feel a little more level-headed, now the initial shock was over, but every second that passed that Myst didn't answer his question, he feared it was about to get more serious.

"Captain Alex Flint." she finally answered, her voice quiet.

Goosebumps rose up on Jim's skin. Alex Flint was supposedly a direct descendent of Nathaniel Flint, the creator of Treasure Planet. The pirate followed in Captain Flint's footsteps and killed without mercy, the only evidence he'd even been on board a ship was the engraving on the deck: A planet with two rings.

He had come from nowhere about ten years before, just suddenly a pirate ship was seen patrolling the systems. No one knew who was responsible for months, it was just these ships appearing, the crew slaughtered and an image drawn, burnt or carved into the deck. It was only when he made a mistake, when he allowed a sailor of a destroyed ship float away unharmed, that anyone knew his name or identity.  
The witness had begged to be locked away in a cell, certain his account would come with a hefty price. By the next morning, though, the witness was dead. Whether Flint or one of his men broke in and killed him, or the witness had taken his own life, no one was quite sure.

It was one of the first assignments at the Academy, a report on both Flints', and what was known about both of them. Every textbook and story and account, though there weren't many, were horrific and gruesome. As the memories of the images and descriptions rose to mind, Jim felt sick. This was not a man to mess with. If Alexander Flint wanted him, he was as good as dead.

Myst lay back down, her voice not dropping the monotonousness level. "Alex was angry that you found and destroyed Treasure Planet. She wants revenge, and would like you there to witness her vengeance."

Jim slumped forward, taking it all in. Myst checked the time on her watch, and gave a satisfied nod.

It was a couple of minutes before anyone spoke, and when he did, there was a spark of hope, of fight, in him.

"What's the plan?"

Myst scoffed. "Plan? What do you mean?"

"Well, you wouldn't have told me this if you were just going to drop me off and wish me well, would you?" He was looking at her intently. "So what's the plan?"

"Let me make this as clear as possible." Myst sat up and gripped the front of his shirt, pulling him close. "I'm not saving you. I'm going to be losing money by even thinking up a plan to get you out. If you need rescuing, you better hope your princess charming is going to save her Domius in distress, because if I get caught in the act, they'll _kill me."_

A shiver went up Jim's spine, as she stood up and headed for the door. "I'll be back with your meal, and you'll be compliant." There was no arguing with the tone of her voice, and she stalked out of the room, shutting the door firmly and loudly behind her.

It took him a moment, but he remembered a very important part of each storybook. When the friend-turned-enemy-turned friend promised to never free you, they always-

Left the door unlocked so you could free yourself!

Jim was off the bed and at the door in a heartbeat, but the door was still locked.

 _Looks like this isn't a cliche story after all._ Jim sighed, falling back onto the bed.


End file.
